Responses to the Automobile Recycling Law

The Law Concerning Recycling Measures for End-of-life Vehicles (Automobile Recycling Law) that went into effect in Japan in January 2005, defines the responsibilities of automakers and other concerned parties in order to encourage the recycling, thermal recovery, and proper treatment of end-of-life vehicles (ELVs).

Automakers are creating systems to ensure the proper collection, recycling/recovery and treatment of three designated items --airbags, ASR*1 and CFCs/HFCs-- generated from ELVs. Working with dismantling and recycling companies to reliably recycle/recover and treat these three items, in FY2007, Toyota achieved an ASR recycling/recovery rate of 76%, equivalent to a vehicle recycling/recovery rate*2 of 96%.

*1 ASR (Automobile Shredder Residue): Non-metallic waste from shredded end-of-life vehicles

*2 Vehicle recycling/recovery rate: Calculated as the approximate 83% recycling rate of materials recovered from the dismantling and shredding processes (as per joint meeting documentation, May 2003), plus a 76% ASR recycling/recovery rate of the 17% ASR remaining after recycling of materials recovered from the dismantling and shredding processes.

Recycling/Recovery of the Three Specified Items (FY2007 results)

Outline of the Law for Recycling of End-of-life Vehicles (Automobile Recycling Law) that Went into Effect on January 1,2005

Target vehicles: 4-wheel passenger vehicles (including mini-vehicles) and 4-wheel commercial vehicles (standard, small, mini-trucks, and buses)

Framework for Collection and Recycling/Recovery based on the Automobile Recycling Law